Cholangiocarcinoma care at Mayo Clinic

A multidisciplinary team collaborates to provide individualized, comprehensive care for people with bile duct cancer.

At Mayo Clinic, a team of experts works together to provide you with exactly the care you need.

Your Mayo Clinic care team

Experts in cholangiocarcinoma provide comprehensive care for people with cancer. Your team may include specialists in gastroenterology and hepatology, radiology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, surgery, transplant, and other areas if needed. Doctors from these specialties work together to provide exactly the care you need.

This coordinated team approach fosters clear communication focused on your situation. Close collaboration among your Mayo Clinic care team members enables them to have your test results available quickly and to coordinate your appointments.

Advanced diagnosis and treatment

Proton therapy for cholangiocarcinoma

Some people with cholangiocarcinoma may benefit from Mayo Clinic's Proton Beam Therapy Program.

Mayo Clinic patients have access to advanced radiologic imaging, genetic testing and other advanced diagnostic tools. Your Mayo Clinic doctors have specialized expertise in analysis of biopsy specimens for bile duct cancer and in radiologic imaging, both of which are essential to an accurate diagnosis and staging of your cancer.

Your treatment options for your cholangiocarcinoma will depend on the specifics of your cancer, such as the size, location and extent, as well as your health and personal preferences. At Mayo Clinic, your expert team works with you to find a treatment that meets your needs.

Mayo Clinic offers all standard treatments for cholangiocarcinoma, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, photodynamic therapy and biliary drainage. Mayo Clinic also offers proton therapy — a newer form of high-energy radiation therapy — at its campuses in Arizona and Minnesota. Children, young adults and those with cancers located close to critical organs and body structures may benefit from this highly targeted precision beam therapy. Mayo Clinic's Proton Beam Therapy Program features intensity-modulated proton therapy with pencil beam scanning that allows radiation oncologists to destroy the cancer while sparing healthy tissue.

Mayo Clinic pioneered the use of liver transplant for some types of bile duct cancer. It is still one of the few medical centers in the United States to offer liver transplant as a treatment option for hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Mayo Clinic also offers palliative care, which is specialized medical care that focuses on providing relief from pain and other symptoms of a serious illness. At Mayo Clinic, palliative care specialists work with you, your family and your other doctors to provide an extra layer of support that complements your ongoing care.

Nationally recognized expertise

Mayo Clinic cholangiocarcinoma specialists are respected for their knowledge, experience and expertise. Mayo Clinic doctors treat more than 305 people with bile duct and gallbladder cancers each year. They have performed thousands of operations and procedures on the liver and bile ducts. This makes them among the most experienced procedural experts (endoscopists, interventional radiologists, cancer surgeons and transplant surgeons) in the world.

Extensive research shows that surgeries result in fewer complications when done by highly experienced surgeons at centers that do many of these operations.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., ranks No. 1 for digestive disorders in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings. Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., are ranked among the Best Hospitals for digestive disorders by U.S. News & World Report.

The Mayo Clinic experience and patient stories

Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care like they've never experienced. See the stories of satisfied Mayo Clinic patients.

Expertise and rankings

Mayo Clinic doctors conduct research to advance the diagnosis and treatment of bile duct cancer.

Mayo Clinic doctors have extensive experience diagnosing and treating many people with cholangiocarcinoma, an uncommon type of cancer. They treat more than 305 people with bile duct and gallbladder cancers each year. And Mayo Clinic is one of the major referral centers in the United States for primary sclerosing cholangitis, which is the major risk factor for bile duct cancer.

Mayo Clinic surgeons pioneered the use of liver transplant to treat hilar cholangiocarcinoma. They have performed many liver transplant procedures and other surgical procedures to treat bile duct cancers. Extensive research shows that surgeries result in fewer complications when done by highly experienced surgeons at centers that do many of these operations.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., ranks No. 1 for digestive disorders in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings. Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., are ranked among the Best Hospitals for digestive disorders by U.S. News & World Report.

Costs and insurance

Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.

In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals, or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.

Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.

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